Supermarionation Universe, Another Frontier
by NatThaNut
Summary: A wormhole provides a passage between the Supermarionation Universe (Thunderbirds) and the Federation Universe (Star Trek)
1. Default Chapter

A few notes before we start…

_I don't own Thunderbirds, Star Trek or anything that is associated with them. I obtained information about Star Trek technology from CD ROMs Star Trek: Omnipedia and Star Trek TNG Technical Manual. The crew of the Orac and the ship are my own creation._

This all started when I started uni. Some lecturers were funny and very enthusiastic as they gave their lectures. Others seemed to have that kind of tone in their voice that sent you to sleep. I even found myself struggling to keep awake. And it didn't help that I had a few very early lectures either. Also it didn't help that, although I'm not really complaining, they gave us printed notes for each lecture so I wasn't writing much that would keep me awake. I sometimes drifted in and out of dreamland and weird thoughts start to play out. And that's how this idea came about. 

Seafleet (ok it is a lame name I came up with) is the Navy and it is apart of Starfleet. The flagship is called the _Orac_. Orac is one of my computers and I thought that name sounded good.

The crew of the _Orac_ are listed below to help you (and sometimes myself) out when reading the stories:

Commanding Officer - Captain Richard Gelding 

First Officer - Commander Andi Davidson 

Chief of Security - Lieutenant Commander Jim Harding 

Chief Medical Officer – (Lieutenant Commander) Dr. Kerry Collins 

Chief of Engineering - Lieutenant Commander Mark McIntyre 

Operations Officer (Ops) - Lieutenant Toby Smith 

Science Officer - Lieutenant Natalie Yates 

Navigations Officer - Ensign Paula Wallis 

Ensign Thomas Yates is a science officer that later takes over Natalie's duties when she is gone from the ship.

If the characters are on duty I will refer to their last names, except for Natalie and Thomas since they both have the same surnames (they are cousins). When they are off duty I will refer to their first names. I have seen it in books and other places that if someone has the rank of Lieutenant Commander the term 'Commander' is a shortened way of saying the rank.

With the shuttlecraft _Stardust_ it sounds similar to the _Delta Flyer_ but I had a bit of an idea way before I saw the episodes with the _Delta_ _Flyer_. I thought it would be great if there were a shuttlecraft that can travel in water, air and space and it has some beds and a sick room like area in it. The cockpit was still the same as other shuttlecrafts, 2 seats at the front with a few at the sides for different consoles. 

Ok I have dribbled on for too long and probably scared you all away. This is my first fic so it may be a bit dodgy so feel free to give helpful comments in your reviews.


	2. The Wormhole

_I don't own Thunderbirds, Star Trek or anything that is associated with them. I obtained information about Star Trek technology from CD ROMs Star Trek: Omnipedia and Star Trek TNG Technical Manual. The crew of the Orac and the ship are my own creation._

The Wormhole 

_Orac_, the most powerful and technologically advanced submarine in Seafleet , was one of several submarines that were ordered to the Indian Ocean to monitor an experiment, which is to increase algae growth in an area by a chemical reaction. To set off the reaction a laser is fired onto a container, which is filled with chemicals. The laser reacts with the chemicals in a way that causes the algae to double in growth. Everything had been cleared and the submarines were focusing their short-range sensors onto the area so if something did go wrong they can collect the data and see if it would cause damage to the environment or not. All were waiting for the final count down of the laser fire.

"Come on! When are they going to start! I'm bored!" complained Chief of Security Lieutenant Commander Jim Harding. 

"Look, they have to make sure everything is working fine and in the right place, otherwise we'll be blown to hell and back." Said Science Officer Lieutenant Natalie Yates.

Commander Jim Harding and Lieutenant Natalie Yates sat at their stations that were at the very back of the bridge. Natalie took a few minutes looking around the bridge of the submarine _Orac_. Harding was on Natalie's left and looking down from the security/tactical station she could see the door to the Captain's Ready Room. Looking down from her science station she could just see the door that led to the Conference Room. In the middle of the bridge was the Command Chair, which was currently occupied by Captain Richard Gelding, the commanding officer of the ship. The First Officer, Commander Andi Davidson, was sitting on the Captain's right. On either side of the Captain along the walls were 2 other consoles. On the left was engineering and at the moment Chief of Engineering Lieutenant Commander Mark McIntyre, who happens to be Natalie's uncle, isn't occupying it. 'He's down at Main Engineering ready to fix stuff if anything gets damaged during this experiment.' Natalie thought. Looking to the wall on the right was the console for Ops and seated in front of it was Lieutenant Toby Smith. Ensign Paula Wallis sat at the helm in the centre front of the bridge. 'The only member of the senior staff that isn't here on the bridge is Dr. Kerry Collins.' Thought Natalie as she looked along the walls of flashing yellow lights, indicating the ship was on yellow alert.

She looked at the bridge again. All the people present were wearing their uniforms. The Seafleet uniforms were 2 piece uniforms, all navy blue with a certain colour around the end of the sleeves, around the edge of the shirt collar and in between the neck and shoulder area. Also the over shirt had a zipper that doesn't zip all the way up to the neck revealing a small portion of the undershirt. The undershirt was similar to the shirt only without sleeves and the collar. The colour scheme is opposite to the over shirt. The patches in between the sholder and the neck were navy blue while the rest of the singlet was in the colour of the person's duty. Red was for command or navigation, blue for science or medical and yellow for engineering or security. The rank pins were the same as Starfleet and were worn on the right hand side above where the duty colour ends. On the left hand side under the colour patch sits the combadge, a gold circle with a silver oval tilted to the right within the circle. Inside the oval was an anchor in gold in the same orientation as the oval. 

Natalie looked over to Ops where a beeping noise was indicating that there was an incoming message. Smith spoke so that everyone can hear him, "Control Centre has just sent out a message to the fleet saying that the experiment is commencing in 5 minutes."

"Sensor readings on and around the experiment area are within normal parameters sir." Natalie informed.

~*~

Meanwhile in another universe at the same location and the same time, a similar event was about to happen. The weather was rough, causing the seas to be very choppy. A cargo ship was sailing in the area when the weather turned bad. Down below was a WASP submarine that was about to test the newly designed laser gun. Its target is a small pile of rubble. "If things go well sir, this laser gun will become very useful." Commented a Seaman to the Captain.

"That's if we can pull off this little test, Seaman." 

The tactical officer turned in his chair and said, "Firing in 5 minutes sir." 

The weather above was getting worse and the cargo ship was rocking violently. One of the containers filled with chemicals broke loose and fell overboard. It began sinking towards the test site of the laser gun.

~*~

"4 minutes to go sir." Said Natalie. "So far no changes in the environment that might interfere with the experiment." 

~*~

"3 minutes until firing." Said the tactical officer.

"Helm, get us into position." Ordered the Captain.

"Aye, Sir." Acknowledged the helmsman. Meanwhile the fallen container continues sinking closer.

~*~

"2 minutes. Everything still going good sir." Informed Natalie.

~*~

"1 minute before firing sir." Said the tactical officer.

"Now in position sir." Informed the helmsman. The crew were still oblivious to the sunken container that was heading their way.

~*~

"30 seconds."

~*~

"20 seconds."

~*~

"10 seconds."

~*~

"9"

~*~

"8"

~*~

"7"

~*~

"6"

~*~

"5, powering laser sir."

~*~

"4"

~*~

"3"

~*~

"2"

~*~

"1"

"Fire!" ordered the Captain. As the laser gun fired, the fallen container came into contact and there was an explosion.

~*~

"1, laser now firing." Informed Natalie. The laser hit the container, and then an explosion happened. _Orac_ shuddered as a shockwave hit the submarine while the bridge was flooded with red light and the sound of the red alert klaxon. People fell over and some consoles exploded. "I wish you would get around to finishing those shields you were designing Yates." Shouted Harding. 

When Captain Gelding got his breath back and got himself off the floor he yelled, "Report!" Natalie looked at her console and punched a few buttons to get the readings she needed. "What the?!" she said.

"What is it Lieutenant?" asked Gelding.

"I'm picking up quantum fluctuations from where the explosion occurred."

"What does that mean?" interrupted Commander Davidson.

 "It means that the explosion has resulted in creating some kind of wormhole."

"What?!" Then the console beeped.

"Sir! The wormhole is starting to close and it is creating a current that is pulling the _Victor_ towards it! The wormhole is very unstable and if the _Victor_ goes in it will be very hard to get back because the terminus is about to shift." Natalie punched a few more buttons. "They are trying to break free but their starboard engine was damaged during the shockwave. There is no way they can get away on their own sir and the wormhole will be closed in 30 seconds."

Gelding then asked, "Can we get there and pull them out?"

"We wouldn't get there in time sir." Answered Harding.

"What about the other ships?"

Natalie answered, "Some are still recovering from the shockwave and others don't have the equipment or are too small to pull the _Victor_ free." The console beeped "20 seconds until the wormhole is closed."

"We'll try anyway. Helm full speed ahead and get us next to the current the _Victor_ is in. Mr Harding, lock a retrieval torpedo onto the _Victor_ and fire when we are in range." Ordered Gelding.

"Aye sir!" said Harding and Wallis. 

_Orac_ was almost close enough to the _Victor_. "Wormhole closing in 10 seconds" Natalie said. 

"Sir we aren't close enough." Informed Harding. 

"I guess we'll have to risk it. Wallis, get us into that current and be ready to get us out when we have the _Victor_."

"Aye sir." Wallis navigated the ship into the current and soon was moving faster with the pull of the current. 

"Now in range, firing now!" Harding hit the fire button. The torpedo shot from _Orac_ and was heading to the _Victor_. When the torpedo was almost at its target the _Victor_ suddenly tilted and the torpedo missed. The crew watched the torpedo skim past the _Victor_ on the view screen as Natalie spoke "Wormhole is now closing."

Everyone watched the view screen helplessly as they saw the _Victor_ disappear and the wormhole close with a brilliant flash. Still moving at a fast speed, the _Orac_ sped past where the wormhole used to be. Gelding realised this and ordered, "Helm all stop." 

"All stopped sir" replied Wallis.

"Do we know where the wormhole leads to?" asked Davidson.

"Not at this moment. We need to collect and analyse the data and see if we can determine where the _Victor_ ended up." Answered Natalie. 'And I guess they'll make me do all the analysing' she thought. That was the only downside to being the only senior offer that was a part time Starfleet Officer on the flagship. Whenever something weird happens they throw Natalie in the middle of it because she is the best qualified to handle those kinds of situations due to her training at Starfleet Academy. If anything weird happens when the _Orac_ is around or involved the investigations are handed over to the flagship. "Lieutenant Yates, I'm putting you in charge of this investigation." Gelding ordered.

"I'll be needing all the data that the ships collected." Then she thought 'here I go again, trying to work out what the hell happened. I hope the crew of the _Victor_ are alright wherever they are.'

~*~

They crew were just recovering from the shockwave that just hit the submarine. "What happened?" asked the Captain.

"A container of some kind came into contact with the laser resulting in an explosion." Informed the Ensign.

"Whoa, what is that?!" exclaimed the First Officer. Everyone turned and looked at the very large, bright and swirling vortex that was occupying the area where the explosion originated. 

"Does anyone know what it is?" asked the Captain. An Ensign was about to say something when a large object came rushing from the unknown swirling vortex. The crew got a shock when the object came through and the swirling vortex disappearing. Then the Captain realised the object was heading in their direction. He turned to the helmsman and ordered "Helm get us out of the object's course!" The submarine got out of the way just in time before there was a horrific collision.

"What was that?" queried the First Officer.

"It looks like a submarine," answered the Seaman, "but it looks too technologically advanced to be one of ours."

"It could be International Rescue. Apparently their technology is quite advanced." Suggested the Ensign.

"I don't think it is International Rescue. Firstly their submarine was small when I saw it and secondly the name on that submarine isn't Thunderbird." Said the Lieutenant.

"What is the name of the submarine?" asked the Captain.

"It says…_Victor – 4803_ sir," informed the Seaman.

"What should we do Captain?" asked the First Officer.

"We'll get reinforcements before we investigate further."

The Seaman turned in his chair "Contacting WASP headquarters now sir."

~*~

Three months after the disappearance of the _Victor_, Natalie was still trying to piece together all the information. 'The possibilities are endless' she thought, 'time travel to the past or future, taken to another planet or even another universe. And even if we find the terminus here, the other end might shift and it would take ages to scan the seas to find it'. She sighed and slumped in her chair. She couldn't help feeling a bit guilty for not finalising the shields she was working on quickly enough. The crew reassured her that it wasn't her fault. 

Since studying at Starfleet Academy, Natalie had noticed some similarities between starship and submarine engineering. She has started working on some projects to combine the two to allow certain assets to exist on both starships and submarines, like the short-range sensors that have been a success. _Orac_ still uses sonar but sometimes they weren't accurate and the location of the ship would be given away. By having the sensors that starships have, _Orac_ can have sensors that can get quick and accurate scans without giving their location away. There are also long-range sensors but they don't have the same range as the starships due to the fact that scanning 5 light years ahead would be rather useless in the sea.

_Orac_ was the first to use the technology she has modified. If successful she then reconfigures them for whatever class type the other submarines are. Natalie was always good at engineering but she was more useful on the bridge as a Science Officer. But she still helps her uncle out in engineering when her secondary assignment, engineering, comes up on her roster when she isn't on the bridge or out on an away mission beating up bad guys. 

Her latest projects are the shields and tractor beam. With the shields submarines can be more protected from enemy's fire or the pressures of the very deepest parts of the ocean. Also the tractor beam is a bit more useful than the retrieval torpedo in some situations. Like with the _Victor_, they could have quickly compensated for when the ship tilted unexpectedly and would have locked onto it instead of waiting to wheel in the torpedo and fire again, which by then would have been too late. Both shield and the tractor beam have been very successful on the _Orac_ and now all of the Seafleet submarines have them.

"Here, I think you need this," said a voice behind Natalie. She turned and saw her cousin, Ensign Thomas Yates holding her cup with her name on it. She took the cup of herbal tea from her cousin. It was camomile, just what she needed to sooth herself from the stress of working too long on the _Victor_ mystery. Thomas was part of the science department and was found on the bridge at Science when Natalie isn't there.

"So how's it coming cous?" asked Thomas as he sat across from her.

"Not so good. Maybe if we went in then we could have enough data to rule out a few more possibilities."

"Yeah but if we did go we probably would be stuck there."

"Yeah and we wouldn't be able to let Seafleet Command know where we are." Natalie took another sip of the tea.

"Must be pretty stressful how Seafleet Command expects answers from you whenever something weird happens in the seas or if something happens that is similar to what Starfleet has found like the wormhole." 

"Yeah it is. Just because I am both a Seafleet and Starfleet Officer doesn't make me a I-know-everything-that-happens-in-the-universe person."

"Well you do know a variety of stuff in both organizations. "

Natalie looked at her clock, it read '1345'. "My lunchtime break is almost over" she said.

"You going to the bridge first?" asked Thomas.

"Not today. I'm going to engineering for a few hours to make sure the shields and tractor beam are going ok. Then I'll be going to the bridge for the rest of my shift."

"Well then I guess I'll see you on the bridge later on. See you cous."

"See ya."

#

Captain Gelding and Commander Davidson were on mainland at a formal dinner, leaving Commander Harding in command of the ship. Since Harding wasn't occupying security, Natalie was stationed there since security is her tertiary duty.

All was quiet on the flagship as it sailed the North Pacific Ocean. 

"You know if things were busy we would be complaining that we don't get any quiet times," commented Thomas, who at the science station. Things have been pretty quiet during the past month and the crew was starting to yearn for a bit of action. "Anyone up for a game of 'I spy?'" Harding offered and the personnel on the bridge let out a small laugh. 

Then a sound came from science and Thomas spoke "I'm picking up some unusual readings." Harding turned in the command chair to face him. 

"Strange, these are neutrino levels. Why would there be neutrinos?" 

Then Natalie remembered seeing and hearing the similar readings on Deep Space Nine when the Bajoran Wormhole opened.

"A wormhole!" Natalie said then turned to Harding, "We have to get away from our current position." 

Harding turned back to the front. "Wallis, get us away." She did what he ordered. 

The ship got away just in time before a wormhole terminus opened where the _Orac_ used to be. Then the science console beeped and Thomas looked at the readings. His face had a shock expression and Harding saw it and asked, "What is it?"

"An object…no 2 objects are emerging from the wormhole."

"On screen" The view of the wormhole came onto the screen and 2 objects could be seen. "I don't believe it!" said Wallis.

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" said Thomas. 

Natalie pressed a few buttons to double check what they were seeing was true before she spoke up, "The object on the left is the _Victor_!" 

"What about the other object?" asked Harding.

"It's a submarine," answered Natalie, "according to the sensors it is not Starfleet technology."

"Keep an eye on that submarine until we know if it is friend or foe."

Natalie then got a torpedo lock on the unknown sub as Smith spoke, "Sir we are being hailed by the _Victor_." 

"On screen." The view of the wormhole was replaced with Captain Abacus and the bridge of the _Victor_. He said "_Orac_ could you please disengage the torpedo lock on the _S.S. Dorie_, they are not a threat." Harding nodded at Natalie who then disengaged the torpedo lock. "Thanks. Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions to ask about what happened to us."

"We sure do," replied Harding. 

#

Seafleet Command was informed about the _Victor_ returning and the visitors from wherever the _Victor_ was for the past 3 months. It was decided to hold the meeting on the _Orac_. Soon representatives from Seafleet Command, the _Orac_, the _Victor_ and the_ Dorie_ were in the conference room. Shortly after Gelding and Davidson returned to the ship and entered the room and sat down. Then Admiral O'Neil spoke "Well I guess we better start from when the wormhole was formed 3 months ago." Everyone agreed. Captain Abacus straightened in his chair and began to explain.

"The _Victor_ was hit by a shockwave. When the crew returned to their chairs we noticed we were being pulled into the wormhole. Having read about the wormholes previously, I suspected that we would end up trapped somewhere else. We tried to break free but we couldn't because the starboard engine was damaged. Then we saw _Orac_ attempting a rescue, but the _Victor_ was tilted and we saw the torpedo miss us. We knew we couldn't escape and went through the wormhole. We came out the other side with no damage. We stopped and took in our surroundings. Then we noticed that several submarines similar to the _S.S. Dori_e surrounded us. We were brought into questioning and we tried to explain who we were and where we came from. It took some time to convince them that we weren't from their place."

"And what is their place?" interrupted the Admiral.

"Well let's put it this way. Have any of you seen these uniforms these people are wearing before?" questioned Abacus.

"They look remarkably like the WASP uniforms from the TV show _Stingray,_" remarked Davidson.

"You know about WASP and _Stingray_?" said the Captain with surprise.

"Depends if you watched the show or not." Added Davidson.

"So there is a TV show about _Stingray_." Said the First Officer in awe.

"We told them about the show" Abacus quickly said.

"What about _Thunderbirds_ with International Rescue?" Gelding asked.

"You know about International Rescue?" the First Offer asked.

"I guess you could say that." Said Gelding.

"Let me guess," Natalie said to Abacus, "you ended up in another universe that …how should I say it…has supermarionation people?"

"You could say that," replied Abacus, "but as you can se they are not puppets, they are flesh and blood like us." The room broke into a low hum of murmurs.

"If you all don't mind," the Captain intervened, "but what do you mean we are not puppets?"

Everyone looked at the Admiral who then nodded at Natalie and got up and pressed a few buttons on a screen on the wall. She brought up an episode of _Stingray_. 'Better show them that and not _Thunderbirds_ otherwise they would find out who the members of International Rescue are' she thought. As the show played for a while, the visitors sat still in awe. 

Natalie asked, "How did you manage to find the wormhole terminus to get back?"

"First I'll start with how the first wormhole was created." Said the _Victor's_ Science Officer Lieutenant Zeppelin. "While we were setting up that algae experiment in our universe, they were carrying out a weapons test in theirs at the same place and time. A container that contained the same chemicals that we had fell off a ship and sunk into the test area. It then came into contact with the laser. Since the same event happened at the same time and place a wormhole was created.

"After we explained where we came from and figured out how the wormhole was created in the first place, we then went about finding the terminus. It took some time searching, scanning, doing simulations on the holodeck and predicting where it would be, but eventually we got a definite predicted location in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. So we waited and the predictions were right, the wormhole opened and luckily it lead back to this universe."

Abacus then added, "In order to search the seas freely we had to agree to take some representatives of WASP with us to further prove where we came from."

"But how did you manage to keep the wormhole open? Normally it would close after you left it." Natalie asked Zeppelin as she brought up the view of the wormhole.

He replied, "If the wormhole was to close we would have to search for it again and that could take ages. As we passed through we released minodesium and so far it has stopped the wormhole from closing."

"How long until it closes?"

"About 2 hours."

After a few more minutes of discussion it was time for the visitors to return back to their universe. The visitors boarded their ship and were heading towards the wormhole. All was going well until three ships came into the area. Harding's console beeped and he said "Sir! Three enemy vessels are approaching the wormhole and are firing at the _S.S. Dorie_."

"All hands red alert. Mr Harding, fire intercepts. Smith, inform the other ships to fire on the enemy vessels and to stop them from entering the wormhole. Helm, evasive manoeuvres!" The intercepts were fired and branched out over the _S.S. Dorie_ in time to stop the assault of torpedoes. As the enemy fired at the other submarines one started to go towards the wormhole. The _Columbus_ fired and the torpedo hit the side of the ship, rendering it dead in the water. Plasma was leaking from the damaged ship and into the wormhole as the _Columbus_ locked a tractor beam onto the crippled vessel and towed it away.

Natalie spoke, "Sir the plasma form the enemy vessel is reacting with the minodesium, causing the wormhole to become very unstable. I recommend that the _Dorie_ shouldn't enter the wormhole. Attempting to enter it may cause it to collapse and even if they did make it into the wormhole it would collapse before the ship was half way through."

"Is there anyway to stabilise the wormhole?" asked Gelding.

"Yes. If we fire a torpedo and make it release verterons as it goes through it should stabilise it."

"How long before it collapses?"

"Not sure, I say in about 30 minutes sir."

"Right prepare a torpedo to give out verterons, then we'll fire it through the wormhole."

#

"What do you mean we can't go back yet?" said the Captain angrily. 

"If you do try to enter the wormhole there is a great chance that you will never make it." Explained Abacus.

"I don't understand."

"The wormhole has become very unstable which means it could collapse at any moment. If it collapses when you are in there you won't exist in either this or your universe."

"I see. Is there a way to make it…umm…stable?"

"The _Orac_ crew are working on it. Please be patient. We will do everything to get you back home safely."

#

The last of the enemy ships were disabled and were taken into custody. On _Orac_ the torpedo was loaded and was ready to be fired. "Torpedo loaded and ready sir." Informed Harding.

"Fire when ready." Said Gelding. The torpedo was launched and headed to the wormhole and disappeared. Gelding watched and said, "Report" 

"Wormhole is now stabilising. But I recommend that we send a probe through first to see if it is safe enough before the _Dorie_ to go through." Natalie recommended.

"Agreed, prepare and fire the probe."

The probe was launched and sent readings back to _Orac_.

#

"What do you mean the wormhole is permanently in one place now?" asked the Captain, who could be heard on the speakers as the _Victor_ crew could be seen on the view screen.

"Now that it is stable, it will stay in one place instead of moving around the place like a dogs' tail." Explained Natalie.

"But how did it end up like it is now?" asked the Captain

"We used a torpedo to release verterons in the wormhole to stabilise it. I'm afraid it was the only way so that you could get home." Gelding tried to explain.

"So does that mean people from both this universe and our universe can easily travel between universes?" asked the First Officer.

"Yes I'm afraid."

"What do you mean by 'I'm afraid'?" asked the Captain a bit puzzled.

"Since the wormhole is in one place, here it is the Northern Pacific, and in your universe it is in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, people can travel between universes in an underwater vessel. There is a good chance that crooks and enemies from both universes could cross over and wreak havoc. Especially selling our technology on the black-market." Explained Natalie.

"From what I have seen so far you have some very advanced technology and weapons." Commented the Captain.

"Believe me you haven't seen anything yet." Commented Davidson.

Harding stepped in, "Well since the wormhole is pretty much accessible to anyone that has a submarine it is advisable that the two universes co-operate to try to keep the numbers of bad guys very low."

The Captain agreed, "First we'd better get back to our universe and explain the situation. Then we will arrange for some representatives from our government to meet representatives from yours and hopefully we can arrange some kind of coexistence with each other." 

Everyone agreed. Before the _Dorie_ left, some science officers boarded the ship so they could explain what a wormhole was and how it works. They set off for where the wormhole was. It opened when they were close enough and closed when they got inside. "Not only do we have to sort out this wormhole business but I think during the talks a name for the wormhole should be discussed." Suggested Smith.

"Yeah it would be rather bland just to call it 'the wormhole,'" agreed Davidson. 

"Do you think both universes will get along with each other without too many hiccups?" Natalie questioned.

Gelding then replied, "Only time will tell."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes: Minodesium doesn't exist in our reality nor in Star Trek. It was something I made up for the heck of it to explain why the wormhole hadn't close yet. 

_I am basing the shifts and duties of officers on Star Trek. Officers have up to 3 assignments that they go to during their duty times. So if you read a person at a place that they aren't normally at they are probably doing their secondary or tertiary duty. For example (in case if you got confused) Natalie was at security (her tertiary duty) due to Jim Harding being in command. Then when the Dorie was going back she was back at science (her primary duty) since the Captain and First Officer were present on the bridge (Harding is 3rd in command)._


	3. Encounters

_I don't own Thunderbirds, Star Trek or anything that is associated with them. I obtained information about Star Trek technology from CD ROMs Star Trek: Omnipedia and Star Trek TNG Technical Manual. The crew of the Orac and the ship are my own creation._

Encounters

Five months have passed since the wormhole had been stabilised. During that time negotiations have been made between the two universes. During the negotiations, patrols were set up at both terminuses to monitor traffic entering and leaving the _Abacus Wormhole_. In the _Federation_ Universe, they had a marine station and a few submarines to monitor things from that end which was located in the Northern Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile the _Supermarionation_ Universe only had a few submarines monitoring at their end in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. The negotiations were about exchanging technologies and concerns about the intruders who managed to bypass the patrols and now occupy both universes. The _Federation_ Universe managed to capture the intruders a few days after slipping through. But the _Supermarionation_ Universe was having difficulties due to the intruders having more advanced technology then the ships that were tracking them. It was decided that the _Federation_ Universe would send a few ships to help track down the intruders and keep the numbers down to a minimum. Also a few ships from the _Supermarionation_ Universe will be sent to the other universe to escort the intruders back and to aid in their capture. From doing this both sides will get acquainted with the technology from either side.

Since the majority of criminals that stir trouble in the seas in the _Federation_ Universe have gone to the other side, things have been very quiet. The Navy decided to send their flagship, the _Orac, with the first fleet. Reinforcements came so that if some enemies from either universe tried to get through during the swap they would be stopped quickly. The ships from the _Federation_ Universe would be the first to go through. _

"Helm, set a course for the _Abacus Wormhole. Mr Harding ready all weapons and prepare to fire if there is trouble once we leave the wormhole." ordered Gelding. No unexpected enemies came to take the opportunity as _Orac_ lead the fleet through the wormhole. However in the _Supermarionation_ Universe the WASP fleet and patrol were under attack. The enemy was about to enter the wormhole as it opened when torpedoes and missiles came at them from the ships that were travelling through. The enemy side surrendered and were taken away. Then the _Supermarionation_ fleet went through without any troubles._

"Well, that went smoothly didn't it" Harding commented. Everyone on the bridge gave a slight chuckle.  

*

3 weeks later on a tropical island somewhere in the Pacific, Jeff Tracy, the leader of the secret organization International Rescue, was reading an article on the swap of ships. He read some of the article out loud, "The exchange of ships between the two universes a few weeks ago went smoothly, with the exception of a small conflict that happened at our end but was quickly resolved by the _Federation_ forces. The _Federation_ people will work with different organizations in our universe to control damages by the criminals from their universe."

"What kind of damages are they implying father?" asked Virgil.

 "It says here that the _Federation_ technology and weapons are more advanced than ours and they can beat our defence systems easily."

"Would that affect International Rescue in anyway?" Scott asked.

"I'm not sure yet son. We haven't had any problems yet and if the _Federation_ forces can keep an eye on things we should be fine. Although I would like to know how advance their technology is so we can know what we are up against."

Gordon asked, "Aren't they going to hold a conference about what technology the _Federation_ will share as well as an explanation on how some of their technology works?"

"It won't be for a few days yet. I'm already organising some agents to attend the conference and collect information so we can see what we're up against if the crooks from both universes decide to team up and try and get plans of the _Thunderbird_ crafts using the _Federation_ technology."

John then said, "I've heard that there is a TV show about us. I wonder how much the _Federation_ Universe knows about International Rescue." Jeff was about to reply when Alan's portrait started to beep. Jeff put the paper down and pressed a button, "Go ahead Alan."

"Father, there's been a distress call from the coast of northern California. Three people are trapped in one of the buildings in the abandon factory and it is on fire. There is a lot of rubble and doors to get to the trapped men and usual measures wouldn't be able to get to them in time. Also the abandon factory is isolated and the road leading to it has been cut off due to roadwork."

"Thanks son, brief Scott when he's airborne," Jeff motioned to Scott and he went to the wall that would lead him to _Thunderbird_ 1. Jeff turned to Virgil and said, "Take pod 5 with the fire fighting equipment and take laser cutters to get to the trapped men. John, Gordon go with Virgil." 

"Yes father" all three said together.

Shortly after _Thunderbirds_ 1 and 2 took off towards the danger zone.

*

Jim Harding let out an 'oof' as he hit the floor. Natalie back flipped away from him as he tried to trip her. They were both fighting each other not only to train but also to keep themselves from dying from boredom. It's been 3 weeks since they came into this universe and for 2 weeks they managed to find and return 50% of the intruders and returned them back to the _Federation_ Universe. For the past week everything was very quiet. Either the intruders were planning something big or have decided to lay low for now. "Argh!" Natalie yelled as Jim kicked her in the chest, sending her flying a bit before hitting the floor. She flipped back onto her feet and was about to kick him when Smith's voice came over the comm system, "All senior staff please report to the conference room."

"Maybe it's some action at last." Suggested Jim. Natalie agreed as she grabbed a quick drink form the replicator as well as a towel. Both then trotted to the nearest turbolift and went to the conference room.

"We just got a call saying some people from our universe have joined forces with criminals from the _Supermarionation_ Universe." Gelding informed. "Authorities have told us that the group have been trying to get photos and plans of the _Thunderbird_ crafts. Fortunately they have failed every time. Just recently they have obtained a portable sensor that would get the schematics of the _Thunderbird_ crafts very easily and so have asked us to deal with them since the majority of the group are made of people from our universe and also because we are dealing with _Federation_ technology."

"But wouldn't their photo alert pick up the scans the sensors do?" asked Smith.

"As far as we know that only works with cameras and we are pretty sure that the photo alert won't detect a scan." Said Harding.

"Well that will be a big problem for International Rescue." Stated McIntyre.

Gelding continued, "We are currently organising a meeting with the World President so that we can somehow discuss with International Rescue some dangers they might face and suggest some changes to stop being scanned by our technology. But right now we have a bigger problem." He pressed a button and the side screen showed a map. "I've been informed by our authorities that the group are here," and a factory lit up. "People have witness trucks carrying equipment being taken here. Their description matches the portable sensor and holographic projectors Also a distress call was made to International Rescue from this area. We have strong suspicions that this group are trying to obtain the schematics of the _Thunderbird_ crafts once again and this time they might succeed. The group are also planning to trap International Rescue as well and I don't know what they are going to do to them."

"Probably try to get them to tell where their secret base is since we don't know where it is either." Suggested Natalie.

"That's what we guessed so we tried contacting them but someone is preventing us from contacting them."

"So what do we do sir?" Davidson asked Gelding.

"We will send an away team of two groups to the abandon factory. One group will keep an eye on the rescue as the other group dismantle and bring the sensor back to _Orac_ and delete any data on the _Thunderbird_ crafts." Gelding then turned to Harding, "Mr Harding, assemble a group and monitor the rescue. If anyone tries to capture the International Rescue members intervene and bring them back here. If they don't make a move then capture the group after International Rescue have left. Try and stay out of their way and minimise contact with International Rescue for now. We don't want to alarm and distract them too much with them asking how much we know about them. We'll do that once we arrange a meeting with them. Also assign some security personnel to keep watch as the engineering group," he then turned to Chief of Engineering Lieutenant Commander Mark McIntyre, "dismantle the portable sensor. Once they have done that tell them to keep watch of the _Thunderbird_ crafts. Any questions?" No one said anything, "Dismissed." Everyone stood up from their seat and went about their assigned tasks.

*

_Orac_ stayed a few kilometres away from the coast while a transport sub shipped the 2 groups to the shore. Harding had chosen 9 people for his team to dismantle the portable sensor. Natalie is one of Harding's team members. As Harding once said, "you never know when you need a science officer or an engineer, who happens to know how to kick butt, to help out". McIntyre tried not to appear worried for Natalie since she is his niece. He knows that she can look after herself and Jim would look out for her and wouldn't let any harm come to her. Jim had become good friends with Natalie; sometimes they act like they were brother and sister. 

It was night time when they reached the sore and started sneaking up to the factory. McIntyre got out his tricorder and started scanning the area for a while before saying, "I have located the portable sensor, it is in that building over there to the right." Harding was also scanning said, "I'm picking up 6 life signs, 3 in the burning building and 3 in another building to the left. I am also picking up photons, that must be the holographic fire."

"What's that noise?" said an Ensign.

"It's the _Thunderbirds_ crafts," said Harding, "Ok let's move out, try not to get seen by anyone and keep in contact of each other." Everyone nodded and the 2 groups headed in opposite directions to their allocated assignments.  

*

"_Thunderbird_ 1 to base." Scott called on the radio.

"Go ahead Scott." Replied Jeff.

"We have arrived at the danger zone and now proceeding with the rescue."

"Be careful all of you and good luck."

"Thanks father". Scott ended the transmission and got out of _Thunderbird_ 1. He met his brothers at _Thunderbird_ 2. 

"So what's the plan Scott?" asked Gordon.

"Those trapped men would run out of air soon so Gordon and John will start cutting through the rubble and doors. Virgil will get the fire fighting spray to douse the flames; I will help him as well and carry a first aid kit." They all got the equipment and started towards the building. John looked above the building and noticed something strange. The smoke seemed to 'cut off' about six feet above the flames. 'Must be the lack of light' he thought and saw that there was no moon around. He hurried up to his brothers as they entered the building.

*

Meanwhile, Harding and his team watched International Rescue enter the building. He then tapped his combadge, "Harding to McIntyre."

_"McIntyre here."_

"We are now proceeding into the building."

"Acknowledge. We are starting to dismantle the sensor and already deleted the data on the Thunderbird crafts."

"Good. When you have finished you and the engineering personnel return back to the ship with the sensor and security, guard the _Thunderbird_ crafts and stay out of sight. Harding out." Then he motioned his team to start heading for the building.

*

"Hey Tony, where's Phil?"

"He went to check on the portable sensor; all of a sudden it stopped scanning, Bob." Tony, Phil and Bob were 3 of the 6 that were at the factory setting the trap. The other 3 were pretending to be trapped and waiting to capture International Rescue when they came to rescue them. Tony and Phil were from the _Federation_ Universe while Bob was from _Supermarionation_. Tony talked into a radio to the trapped men, "Ok the International Rescue people should start to cut their way to you now so start getting ready." 

"Sure thing Phil. Thank goodness we are using a hologram for the fire instead of a real one."

"You were never fond of the heat, Larry."

Larry, who was from the _Federation_, was about to reply when Phil interrupted on the radio, _"Guys I found out why the sensors stopped scanning."_

"What's the problem?" asked Bob.

"We have some uninvited guests taking the sensor apart."

"Who?" asked Tony.

_"It's_ _Orac_."

_"Who's_ _Orac_?" questioned Zack, who was another trapped man, he is from _Supermarionation_ Universe.

"It's that advance submarine we told you about when it came here and started tracking people down. I bet they have a team looking out for the International Rescue people if they know about the sensor." Said Phil.

"And I bet that Commander Harding and Lieutenant Yates are in that team." Said Larry who has encountered them before. "And if they are there then we will need backup." 

Bob was a bit confused, "are they good fighters?"

"Yes they are." Replied Larry with a hint of hate in his voice.

Phil spoke up, _"they have finished taking the sensor apart and are now taking it to the shore."_

"Don't bother with them Phil, come back here and help us stop those who are following International Rescue. I'll call for backup to deal with anyone else who might be outside and could interfere with our plan." Said Tony. Phil started to head back and when he got there the 3 men left for the burning building and were sneaking behind the security team.

*

The sensor was finally loaded up on the transport sub and the engineering people went back to _Orac_ while the security people went back and hid near the _Thunderbird_ crafts. As they got into position they saw 3 men go into the building. Lieutenant Livingstone taped his combadge. "Livingstone to Harding."

"Harding here."

"Sir, the sensor and engineering personnel have gone back to the ship. We are now in position and just noticed that you have company."

"How many?" 

"3. I guess they noticed the sensor going offline and saw us dismantle it."

"This is going to be tricky. International Rescue is going to be ambushed by the trapped men and we have 3 following us making sure we don't interfere. Livingstone, send 3 people to follow the men and stop them from stopping us, if that makes sense."

"Yes sir, Livingstone out." He pointed to 2 other people and they went with him into the building.

*

"Oh what fun." Whispered Natalie sarcastically.

"I know." Replied Harding. Natalie scanned with her tricorder.

"I can see the 3 trapped men, they all have weapons, same with the 3 men behind us."

"Do any of them have phasers?" asked Harding.

"Only one does and that's with the trapped group. International Rescue has almost reached the trapped men."

"Right everyone ready phasers and set for stun."

*

"We're almost there." Said Gordon.

"Is it me or is it not as hot it's supposed to be for a building on fire?" asked John. They all looked at each other with concern.

"The temperature is only warm. It could be a trap by crooks from the _Federation_ Universe." Suggested Virgil.

"They might have technology to produce false images." Said Gordon.

"I noticed that the smoke was kind of 'cut off' about 6 feet from the flames." Added John.

"I'll radio Dad and let him know." Said Scott and activated his watch. 

_"What is it Scott?"_ asked Jeff, and Scott explained the situation.

_"It may not be a trap so keep on with the rescue, but be ready for any trouble."_ Said Jeff.

"Sure Dad." Replied Scott.

"This is the last one." Said Gordon.

"Right, get ready fellas." Said Scott as he and Virgil drew their guns as Gordon and John started to cut through the last door.

*

"Jim, International Rescue are cutting through the last door." Natalie informed.

"Harding to Livingstone."

"Livingstone here."

"Get ready, International Rescue are about to reach the trapped men."

"Acknowledge."

*

"OK, here we go!" said Virgil as he kicked down the door. Sure enough there was no fire in the room. Only 3 men with guns pointed at them. One of the men said, "So, you have figured it out that it is a trap." He fired a phaser at Scott. He dodged it and then returned fire as all 7 men took cover.

*

Harding's team heard the gunshots and started heading towards the sound. "Hold it right there!" said a voice from behind. They all stopped and turned. "You are not going to interfere with out plans."

"Wanna make a bet." Said Livingstone as he and the other 2 fired phasers and stunned the 3 men.

"Take them outside and tie them up, we'll handle the last 3. Be ready to back us up if we need it." Ordered Harding and then he turned and led his team towards the shooting scene.

*

As Livingstone and his group dragged the unconscious men outside, they were met with more resistance. "Where did you come from?" asked Livingstone.

"Our buddies that you are dragging now called us in for backup, a good thing they did too." Said a man. He was about to fire at them when the hiding security personnel came out and fired at the group. More attackers came out of nowhere firing phasers and forcing the _Orac people back to the shore. Wounded and overcome, the _Orac_ people were about to surrender when the transport sub came carrying reinforcements.  The attackers surrendered and everyone was loaded onto the sub. "What about the others, they have no backup?" asked Livingstone._

"The Captain said for all of us to take care of this group first, then we will come back." Said the driver of the sub. Livingstone didn't like the idea but with so many prisoners to monitor and so many wounded this was the best thing to do. 

*

Harding's team heard the exchange of fire outside but they didn't stop. "What?" whispered Harding loud enough for his combadge to pick up his voice.

_"That's right sir. We were met with an ambush but we overcame them. We are now heading back to the ship so I'm afraid you don't have any backup for a while."_ Livingstone said.

"I guess we are on our own for now. Try and came back with as soon as you can. Harding out."

They reached the room where the fight was happening. As Harding started signalling to enter the room a phaser shot form behind. They were ambushed again and retreated into the room.

*

"What was that?" asked Gordon. They all looked to see more people burst into the room firing at each other. In the confusion Scott was stunned. Then Virgil was rendered unconscious and Gordon was overpowered. John managed to slip away.

"There's too many." Said a Lieutenant.

"I know. We have to back off to outside, we can handle them better there." Answered Harding.

"What about International Rescue? I saw them get captured and taken away."

Harding saw Natalie slipping into another room and said, "Natalie can keep an eye on things as we handle this lot."

"Will she be ok?"

"If we deal with these guys and not let anymore enter the building she can handle those 3 easily." With that the team started retreating back outside.

*

Natalie managed to slip into another room unnoticed. She watched them go outside and the baddies following them. 'They'll be able to handle them better outside' she thought as she got her tricorder out and started scanning. There were 6 life signs in another building. 'Hang on if there are 4 International Rescue members and 3 baddies there should be 7 life signs. Where is the last one?' She moved the tricorder around until she found the last life sign. 'Now is that International Rescue or a baddie? One way to find out.' She took out her phaser and proceeded to sneak on the lone life sign to see who it is.

*

In the other building Chris, Larry and Zack just finished tying Scott, Virgil and Gordon to chairs and left the room. Then Scott and Virgil started to come to. "Aww my head," said Virgil.

"What was I hit with?" mumbled Scott.

"About time you guys woke up." Gordon said.

"Do you know what they are going to do to us Gordon?" Virgil asked.

"They are going to get us to tell them where base is."

"Hey where's John?" Scott said a bit concerned.

"I saw him slip away so he's probably wondering around looking for us."

The door opened and Chris and Larry came into the room. Chris then spoke, "so you two finally woke up, good. Now then if you want to get out of here alive I suggest you tell us where your base is." 

"We will never tell you," said Scott. Zack came back into the room and said,

"I can't find the blonde one." Chris rolled his eyes, "You were never good at finding anyone Zack. I'll go find him." He left the room. Larry turned to the captured men; "We'll be outside to give you sometime to think before we ask you again and this time you'll feel pain if you don't tell us where you base is." Both men then left, closing the door.

"I hope John won't be found," said Virgil.

*

'Where did they take them to?' thought John as he entered a room. 'I wish there was an easier way to find them.' He stopped walking and sighed. Then he heard footsteps, faint but he could just hear them. John quickly went around a corner and drew his gun, ready if it was any of the goons that had kidnapped his brothers. 

*

Natalie did one last scan and saw that the person was in the next room. She got her phaser ready and went to the corner where the person was hiding. She then jumped around and came face to face with John. She then lowered her phaser but John still aimed his gun at her. "You can lower your gun, I'm not the bad guy John." 'Crap I shouldn't have said his name'. The now concerned John asked, "Who are you? How did you know my name?" 

"I'm Lieutenant Natalie Yates from the flagship _Orac. I know your name from the TV show we have about your organisation."_

John lowered his gun, "_Orac_...that's the large submarine people have been talking about from the _Federation_ Universe."

"That's right."

"Were you the ones that came into the room before?"

"Yes, we didn't know that there was another ambush coming from behind again. Look, John, I know you have a lot of questions to ask me about how much we know about your organisation but I can't answer them right now. We were sent to stop you guys from getting kidnapped as well as stopping them from getting the plans of the _Thunderbird_ crafts. Let me help you find your brothers."

"Ok, but I've been looking everywhere and I don't have a clue where they are."

Natalie got out her tricorder, "I know where they are. This is a tricorder, it scans for different things but what we want are life signs." She looked at the tricorder and a concern look came onto her face.

"What is it?"

"There was 6 life signs before in the building your brothers are being held captive. Now there are 5, 3 in one room and 2 in another. Someone must be looking for you." She moved her arm to the right and found the last life sign. "There he is," she showed the readings to John. "It is 10 meters away to the right and he has a weapon."

"So what should we do first?"

"We should take this guy out first and then deal with the other two who are with your brothers." John agreed and they both set off.

They got to the room where Chris was searching. "How should we take him out?" John whispered.

"With this." Natalie said taking her phaser out.

"Wouldn't that kill him?"

"It has a few settings, simply stun and kill." She took aim and fired. Chris fell to the floor as Natalie and John went over to him to see if he was fully unconscious.

"What is that weapon you have anyway?" John asked.

"It's called a phaser." then her combadge spoke.

_"Harding to Lieutenant Yates."_

Natalie tapped her combadge. "Yates here." 

"We have finally dealt with the ambush and now taking them back to Orac so you'll be on your own for a while. How are you going?"

"I have located where they have International Rescue captured. I also bumped into John who managed to get away from them and I have just taken out one of the 3 men. We are now proceeding to where they are being held captive."

"Just be careful, we'll be back as soon as we can."

"Acknowledged. Yates out." and she tapped her combadge, ending the transmission. John had a slight puzzled look and Natalie explained, "It's a combadge," she pointed to the badge, "it's how we communicate with one another." He nodded and then both started heading to the final place.

*

The 2 men came back into the room and Larry spoke, "Ok, you ready to tell us where your base is?"

"Never." answered Scott.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to beat it out of you." Larry started to walk over to Scott.

*

Natalie and John snuck into the room as the 2 men left it and saw Scott, Virgil and Gordon tied up. They also heard what Larry was going to do to Scott. Natalie looked around and saw a chair and kicked it. It fell, making a loud noise. She and John then got ready for anyone coming to investigate the noise.

*

"What was that?" asked Zack.

"Go and check it out, it may be that blonde." said Larry.

Zack, with his gun ready, went into the room. Just as he entered Natalie kicked his arm, sending the gun flying out of his hand. While Natalie dealt with Zack, John went into the room and aimed at Larry, who was about to punch Scott. "I suggest you back away to the wall and drop that phaser." John said. Larry smirked and fired at John. Natalie came into the room and knocked John out of the way. "I'll deal with him, you untie the others," she said before charging at Larry. Larry fired at her but she moved out of the way and kicked the phaser out of his hand. Natalie was about to aim her phaser at him when he tripped her and she fell, the phaser was thrown out of her hand as she hit the ground, knocking the wind out of her. "I have learned a few movements since out last encounter. This time I'll beat you." Said Larry as he bent down, took off her combadge and threw it to the other side of the room. "And none of your crew mates are going to help you now." Natalie got her breath back and kicked Larry. She got up and ran for her combadge and grabbed it, only to have it fly out of her hand as Larry kicked her arm.

As Larry and Natalie fought each other, John untied his brothers. "Who's that?" Scott asked John.

"That's Natalie, she's from _Orac, I'll tell you everything later." Then something landed near John. He looked down and saw two objects and picked them up 'it's Natalie's combadge and a phaser' he thought and looked up to see Natalie receive a blow to the head. _

Natalie hit the floor and was now unconscious. Larry smiled an evil grin as he walked over to her and drew a knife. "Now you are finished!" he said and was about to stab her when a phaser fire hit him and the knife dropped next the Natalie. The Tracy brothers looked at John who just fired the phaser. "He's only stunned," he told them. 

"We better go before more turn up," said Scott.

"Wait, we have to help Natalie. She helped me find you guys and she was sent here along with others to stop our capture." John said as he went over to Natalie and assessed her. "It's only a bump to the head and a small graze on the cheek, she should be fine." He picked her up and they all made their way back to the _Thunderbird_ crafts.

Outside _Thunderbird_ 2, John was cleaning up the graze on Natalie's face. "What should we do with her now?" asked Virgil.

"You could return her to us." said a voice. It was Harding.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Jim Harding, Chief of Security. What happened to her?"

"She was knocked unconscious when fighting one of the crooks," informed Scott.

"May I?" Harding asked and John moved away from her as he scanned Natalie's face. "A minor concussion and some bruising under the graze." he read out. "Thanks for taking care of her. We'll take it from here and get her to back to the ship."

"Wait, how much do you know about us?" asked Scott.

"I'm afraid my Captain ordered me not to say anything and that we will arrange a meeting with you to answer all your questions. Don't worry we won't tell anyone and we don't know where your base is so your secret is safe." Scott nodded and Harding went and picked up Natalie and headed for the shore as security personnel went into the complex to see if anyone else was in there. The Tracy's went into their crafts and took off for base.

In _Thunderbird_ 2 John was looking out the window when Gordon interrupted his thoughts "Hey what's that John?" John looked at object that clung to his sleeve. He took it off and held it in his hand. "It's nothing." He said. 'I forgot to give Natalie's combadge back. She'll probably get issued with a new one. Still I would like to return it to her.' he thought as he looked out the window again, thinking about if he'll ever see Natalie again.


End file.
